When Bob Rudisill stepped down as the York Suburban girls' basketball head coach six years ago, he thought he was done with coaching.

When he agreed to take a junior varsity position with the Kennard-Dale girls' program four years ago, he still didn't think another varsity head coaching job was in his future.

But it was. Rudisill accepted the top girls' job at Kennard-Dale in 2016, and turned the Rams from a losing team into a state playoff qualifier in just two seasons.

That turnaround is giving him peace of mind as he steps away from coaching.

Rudisill confirmed that he recently resigned as the head girls' basketball coach at Kennard-Dale. A teacher in the South Eastern School District the past 38 years, Rudisill is retiring in June and plans to move with his wife to St. Augustine, Florida. The couple have a son, daughter-in-law and grandson who live there.

"I would have loved to continue coaching those girls, but my family is making a change in life," Rudisill said. "I think I'm done with coaching because those kids are the only ones I want to coach. I've been a coach my whole adult life and have been very lucky to have these opportunities. But I'm ready for some new things."

While Rudisill only spent two years as the head girls' coach at Kennard-Dale, his impact in Fawn Grove and York County goes far beyond that. The York Catholic grad spent 18 years as the Kennard-Dale boys' basketball head coach from 1981 to 1998, and seven years as the York Suburban girls' basketball head coach from 2006 to 2012. He also spent time as an assistant with both programs at York Suburban — coaching his son and daughter — in-between those stints.

He's best known for leading the Kennard-Dale boys' team to an undefeated regular season and a District 3 title in 1993. That Rams team, which featured 2,000-point scorer Adam Miller, celebrated the 25th anniversary this past season.

Still, Rudisill takes a lot of pride in what the Kennard-Dale's girls' team was able to accomplish this season by going 15-13 and winning a state playoff game against Mifflinburg. The 61-year-old has led the boys' and girls' programs to their only PIAA tournament victories.

"From a selfish standpoint, it was a nice way to go out," Rudisill said. "It was probably a little bit of a surprise for us. But it was really cool for the community to have memorable seasons for both the boys and girls this year."

When Rudisill took over the program two years ago, the Rams were coming off three consecutive losing seasons. While he said he told Kennard-Dale athletic director Gary McChalicher at the time that he didn't expect to stay long, he was excited to continue working with players he had gotten to know as a teacher and JV coach.

Those players include a number of multi-sport stars in lacrosse player Megan Halczuk and softball players Lexie Kopko and Jaedyn McKeon. Despite the team's youthful roster, the Rams went from 7-15 in Rudisill's first season to the league and District 3 tournaments this winter.

Rudisill admitted it was difficult telling the players he wasn't coming back. Kennard-Dale will bring back its entire starting lineup — which includes the three aforementioned players along with Megan Thomas and Chandler Swanson — next season.

"We improved the culture here and they believe they can win on any night," Rudisill said. "I tell anybody that wants to get into coaching that it's worth it. I've gotten a lot of cards and texts from the girls and others expressing their thoughts and emotions."

According to McChalicher, Rudisill was encouraged to take the Kennard-Dale head coaching job by a group of fathers who wanted him to coach their daughters. The athletic director credited the longtime coach with instilling a sense of community pride in his players.

"Coach Rudisill is perhaps the purest coach that I have ever been around," McChalicher said. "I gained a new perspective on the connections between community, culture and sport when Coach Rudisill returned to our program.

"The scene at Kennard-Dale over the last two years was centered around the appreciation for a man that represented a great source of pride in our community and the best teacher and coach many in our community ever had. The girls learned a lot about life, their team and themselves with a little basketball sprinkled in."

Although he's looking forward to living in Florida, Rudisill said he will greatly miss being a part of the Kennard-Dale community.

"I'm not counting down the days because I want to enjoy my remaining time," he said. "I quit coaching the boys' team (at Kennard-Dale) because my son was going into high school, but Kennard-Dale is where my heart's always been. There were old-timers who graduated in the 1960s in the stands at our games this year. I'm a very lucky guy."